The Night Café: Buyers Club, Liverpool

The Night Cafe at The Buyers Club

The scouse army came out in force for local boys The Night Café. Getintothis’ Lowri Gronow finds them stepping up to the challenge.

The location, hidden in the depth of Liverpool’s city centre, operates as a popular restaurant, bar and music venue. Hardman Street offers a rare treasure in the form of the contemporary and stylish Buyers Club. It may be raining heavily outside, but the atmosphere is just the right amount of cosy inside. This new site offers an intimate experience; the perfect setting for The Night Café to perform their new material.

The band really stepped up to the challenge, a daunting task for any up-and-comers. They seemed perfectly at home amid an array of avid fans, who packed the venue within minutes of the band’s arrival on stage. They may have an obvious appeal to a younger crowd, but truth be told their music appeals to a larger majority, with people of all ages coming together.

Haven’t seen the Buyers Club yet? Check out our preview.

The band’s musical stylings harmonised with The 1975 and managed to capture the current zeitgeist of guitar-based power pop.

There a few futile attempts to engage with the audience, inviting them to do audience participatory things; hand clapping and the like. This was taken up by a few but quickly died. There were further attempts to get the place moving but on the whole, the crowd seemed to be mostly a sea of bobbing heads.

There was also a false start to one track, but the band managed to laugh it off, pinning it on one another in jeering spirit. Seeming to genuinely enjoy themselves, the snug atmosphere stayed consistently upbeat. The only down moment was when they slowed it down with the popular Addicted, with it’s memorable staccato guitar.

The night concluded with what was described as a “decent banger“, leaving the audience’s feet tapping and ears buzzing.